About the Book
Ratified in the years immediately following the American Civil War, the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution—together known as the Reconstruction Amendments—abolished slavery, safeguarded a set of basic national liberties, and expanded the right to vote, respectively. This two-volume work presents the key speeches, debates, and public dialogues that surrounded the adoption of the three amendments, allowing us to more fully experience how they reshaped the nature of American life and freedom.
Volume I outlines a broad historical context for the Reconstruction Amendments along with materials related to the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery, while Volume II covers the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments on the rights of citizenship and enfranchisement. The documents in this collection encompass a sweeping range of primary sources, from congressional talks to court cases, public speeches to newspaper articles. As a whole, the volumes meticulously depict a significant period of legal change even as they illuminate the ways in which people across the land grappled with the process of constitutional reconstruction. Filling a major gap in the literature on the era, The Reconstruction Amendments will be indispensable for readers in politics, history, and law, as well as anyone seeking a better understanding of the post–Civil War basis of American constitutional democracy.
Table of Contents:
Introduction to Volume 2
Part 1. The Fourteenth Amendment
A. Drafting
Introduction to Part 1A
The Thirty-Ninth Congress: Membership
1. US Senate, Opening Day of Thirty-Ninth Congress (Dec. 4, 1865)
2. US House, Opening Day of Thirty-Ninth Congress, Exclusion of Former Rebel States, Appointing Joint Committee on Reconstruction (Dec. 4, 1865)
3. US House, Thaddeus Stevens, Proposed Amendments (Dec. 5, 1865)
4. US House, John Bingham, Proposed Amendment (Dec. 6, 1865)
5. US Senate, Appointing Joint Committee on Reconstruction (Dec. 12, 1865)
6. Joint Committee on Reconstruction, Membership (1865–1867)
7. US Senate, Freedmen’s Bureau Bill, Black Codes (Dec. 13, 1865)
8. Secretary of State William Seward, Proclamation of Ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment (Dec. 18, 1865)
9. US Senate, Lyman Trumbull, Freedmen’s Bureau Bill (Dec. 19, 1865)
10. US House, Passage of Proposed Amendment on the Rebel Debt (Dec. 19, 1865)
11. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “This Is the Negro’s Hour,” National Anti-Slavery Standard (Dec. 30, 1865)
12. US House, James G. Blaine, Proposed Suffrage-Based Apportionment Amendment (Jan. 8, 1866)
13. Joint Committee, Proposed Apportionment Amendment, Exclusion of “Insurgent States” (Jan. 9, 1866)
14. US House, John Bingham, Proposed Amendment to Grant Congress Power to Secure “Equal Personal Rights” (Jan. 9, 1866)
15. US Senate, Lyman Trumbull, Judiciary Committee Reports S. Nos. 60 & 61 (Freedmen’s Bureau and Civil Rights Bills) (Jan. 11, 1866)
16. US Senate, Lyman Trumbull, Reporting Amendments to Civil Rights Bill (Jan. 12, 1866)
17. Joint Committee, Proposed Amendments, Apportionment, Power to Secure to All Persons “Equal Protection in Their Rights of Life, Liberty and
Property” (Jan. 12, 1866)
18. US Senate, Debate, Freedmen’s Bureau Bill (Jan. 19, 1866)
19. Joint Committee, Proposed Amendments, Vote on Apportionment Amendment (Jan. 20, 1866)
20. US House, Debate, Apportionment Amendment (Jan. 22, 1866)
21. US House, Debate, Apportionment Amendment, Women’s Suffrage Petition (Jan. 23, 1866)
22. US House, Debate, Apportionment Amendment (Jan. 24, 1866)
23. US House, Debate, Apportionment Amendment, Speech of John Bingham (Jan. 25, 1866)
24. US House, Debate, Apportionment Amendment, Speech of William Wright (D-NJ) (Jan. 26, 1866)
25. Joint Committee, John Bingham, Proposed Amendment Granting Congress Power to Enforce the Rights of Citizens and All Persons (Jan. 27,
1866)
26. US Senate, Debate, Civil Rights Bill, Proposed Addition of Citizenship Clause (Jan. 29, 1866)
27. US Senate, Debate, Civil Rights Bill, Amended Citizenship Clause (Jan. 30, 1866)
28. US House, Proposed Apportionment Amendment Referred Back to Joint Committee (Jan. 30, 1866)
29. US House, Apportionment Amendment, Speech of Thaddeus Stevens, Vote and Passage (Jan. 31, 1866)
30. US House, Freedmen’s Bureau Bill, Adding “the Constitutional Right to Bear Arms” (Feb. 1, 1866)
31. US Senate, Civil Rights Bill, Debate, Vote, and Passage (Feb. 2, 1866)
32. US House, Freedmen’s Bureau Bill, Debate and Passage (Feb. 2, 1866)
33. Joint Committee, John Bingham, Proposed Amendment Granting Power to Secure the Rights “of Citizens in the Several States” and “to All
Persons in the Several States Equal Protection in the Rights of Life, Liberty and Property” (Feb. 3, 1866)
34. US Senate, Apportionment Amendment, Speech of Charles Sumner (Feb. 6, 1866)
35. US Senate, Apportionment Amendment, Remarks of William Pitt Fessenden (Feb. 7, 1866)
36. Joint Committee, Adoption of John Bingham’s Version of Proposed Amendment (Feb. 10, 1866)
37. US Senate, William Pitt Fessenden Reports Proposed Amendment (Feb. 13, 1866)
38. US Senate, Freedmen’s Bureau Bill, President Andrew Johnson’s Veto Message (Feb. 19, 1866)
39. US Senate, Freedmen’s Bureau Bill, Speech of Lyman Trumbull, Vote to Override Fails (Feb. 20, 1866)
40. US House, John Bingham Reports Proposed Amendment Empowering Congress to Secure the “Privileges and Immunities” of Citizens and the
Due Process Rights of All Persons, Response by Andrew Rogers (Feb. 26, 1866)
41. US House, Debate, Proposed Amendment Empowering Congress to Secure the “Privileges and Immunities” of Citizens and the Due Process
Rights of All Persons (Feb. 27, 1866)
42. US House, Debate Continued, “Privileges and Immunities” Amendment, Speeches of John Bingham and Giles Hotchkiss, Vote to Postpone
Consideration (Feb. 28, 1866)
43. US House, Debate, Civil Rights Bill, Speeches of James Wilson and M. Russell Thayer (Mar. 1–2, 1866)
44. US Senate, Debate, Apportionment Amendment, Opposition of Charles Sumner (Mar. 7, 1866)
45. US House, Debate, Civil Rights Bill (Mar. 8, 1866)
46. US House, Debate, Civil Rights Bill, Speech of Columbus Delano (R-OH) (Mar. 8, 1866)
47. US Senate, Debate, Apportionment Amendment, Fails Two-Thirds Vote (Mar. 9, 1866)
48. US House, Debate, Civil Rights Bill, Speech of John Bingham in Opposition (Mar. 9, 1866)
49. US House, Debate, Civil Rights Bill, Vote and Passage (Mar. 13, 1866)
50. US Senate, Motion to Retroactively Exclude John Stockton (Mar. 22, 1866)
51. US Senate, President Andrew Johnson’s Message Accompanying Veto of the Civil Rights Bill (Mar. 27, 1866)
52. US Senate, Exclusion of John Stockton (Mar. 27, 1866)
53. US Senate, Civil Rights Bill, Veto Override (Apr. 6, 1866)
54. US House, Civil Rights Bill, Speech of William Lawrence, Veto Override (Apr. 7, 1866)
55. S. S. Nicholas, “The Civil Rights Bill” (Apr. 12, 1866)
56. “News of Proposed Amendments in the Joint Committee on Reconstruction,” Chicago Tribune (Apr. 16, 1866)
57. Joint Committee, Thaddeus Stevens Introduces Five-Section Constitutional Amendment (Apr. 21, 1866)
58. Joint Committee, Proposed Constitutional Amendment (Apr. 25, 1866)
59. Joint Committee, Proposed Constitutional Amendment, Adoption of John Bingham’s Draft of Section One (Apr. 28, 1866)
60. US House, Thaddeus Stevens Introduces Proposed Five-Section Fourteenth Amendment (Apr. 30, 1866)
61. “The Progress of Reconstruction—What the ‘Secret Directory’ Proposes,” New York Times (Apr. 30, 1866)
62. US House, Proposed Fourteenth Amendment, Speech of Thaddeus Stevens Introducing the Amendment, Debate (May 8, 1866)
63. US House, Proposed Fourteenth Amendment, Debate and Passage (May 10, 1866)
64. US Senate, Proposed Fourteenth Amendment, Speech of Jacob Howard Introducing the Amendment (May 23, 1866)
65. “The Reconstruction Debate in the Senate, Mr. Howard Speaks on Behalf of the Committee,” New York Times (May 24, 1866)
66. US Senate, Proposed Fourteenth Amendment, Debate, Citizenship Clause Added, Section Three Removed and Replaced, Alterations to
Section Four (May 29, 1866)
67. US Senate, Proposed Fourteenth Amendment, Debate (May 30, 1866)
68. US Senate, Proposed Fourteenth Amendment, Debate Continued (May 31, 1866)
69. US Senate, Proposed Fourteenth Amendment, Debate Continued (June 4, 1866)
70. US Senate, Proposed Fourteenth Amendment, Debate Continued, Speech of Luke Poland, Remarks of William M. Stewart (June 5, 1866)
71. US Senate, Proposed Fourteenth Amendment, Speech of Garrett Davis (June 7, 1866)
72. US Senate, Proposed Fourteenth Amendment, Debate, Passage of Amended Version (June 8, 1866)
73. Majority and Minority Reports of the Joint Committee (June 8, 1866)
74. US House, Proposed Fourteenth Amendment, Speech of Thaddeus Stevens, Vote and Passage of Amended Senate Version (June 13, 1866)
75. US House, Proposed Fourteenth Amendment, Discussion Regarding Presentment to the President for Signature (June 15, 1866)
76. US Senate, Proposed Fourteenth Amendment, President Andrew Johnson’s Message of Transmission (June 22, 1866)
B. Ratification
Introduction to Part 1B
1. Connecticut, Debate and Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment (June 25 and 27, 1866)
2. New Hampshire, House Committee Report (Majority and Minority), Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment (June 26 and July 6, 1866)
3. New Hampshire, House of Representatives, Speech of E. A. Hibbard (June 26, 1866)
4. A Call for a Convention of Southern Loyalists (July 4, 1866)
5. Circular Accompanying the Call for a Convention of Southern Loyalists (July 10, 1866)
6. Congressional Campaign Speeches of Montgomery Blair and George H. Pendleton, Reading, PA (July 18, 1866)
7. Tennessee, Gov. William Brownlow’s Proclamation and Address, Ratification (July 4–19, 1866)
8. US House, Readmission of Tennessee, Speech of John Bingham (July 20 and 23, 1866)
9. Speech of Indiana Gov. Oliver P. Morton on the Fourteenth Amendment, New Albany, IN (July 27, 1866)
10. “The New Orleans Riot,” Albany Evening Journal (Aug. 1, 1866)
11. “The Rebel Massacre in New Orleans” and “The Right of Free Assemblage,” Evening Telegraph (Aug. 1, 1866)
12. Speech of Sen. Lyman Trumbull (R-IL), Chicago, IL (Aug. 2, 1866)
13. Speech of Rep. Schuyler Colfax (R-IN), Indianapolis, IN (Aug. 7, 1866)
14. Speech of Sen. Thomas A. Hendricks (D-IN), Indianapolis, IN (Aug. 8, 1866)
15. Speech of Sen. Henry Lane (R-IN), Indianapolis, IN (Aug. 18, 1866)
16. Speech of Gen. George Morgan, Coshocton, OH (Aug. 21, 1866)
17. Speech of Rep. John Bingham (R-OH), Bowerston, OH (Aug. 24, 1866)
18. Speech of Rep. Columbus Delano (R-OH), Coshocton, OH (Aug. 28, 1866)
19. Speech of President Andrew Johnson, New York, NY (Aug. 29, 1866)
20. “The Appeal,” Southern Loyalists Convention, Philadelphia, PA (Sept. 6, 1866)
21. Frederick Douglass, Speech at Southern Loyalist Convention, Philadelphia, PA (Sept. 6, 1866)
22. President Andrew Johnson, Remarks on the New Orleans Riot, St. Louis, MO (Sept. 8, 1866)
23. New Jersey, Legislative Debates and Ratification (Sept. 11, 1866)
24. Speech of Sen. Henry Wilson (R-MA), Anderson, IN (Sept. 22, 1866)
25. Speech of Sen. John Sherman (R-OH), Cincinnati, OH (Sept. 28, 1866)
26. Speech of Gen. Benjamin Butler, Candidate for House of Representatives from Massachusetts, Toledo, OH (Oct. 2, 1866)
27. “A Little More about Suffrage,” New Orleans Times (Oct. 15, 1866)
28. Speech of Wendell Phillips on the Fourteenth Amendment, Cooper Institute (Oct. 25, 1866)
29. Oregon, Legislative Debate and Ratification, Oregonian (Sept. 14 and 19, 1866)
30. “A Clear Issue,” Harper’s Weekly (Oct. 6, 1866)
31. Texas, House Report and Rejection of Proposed Fourteenth Amendment (Oct. 13, 1866)
32. Texas, Senate Report and Rejection of Proposed Fourteenth Amendment (Oct. 22, 1866)
33. Vermont, Gov. Paul Dillingham’s Message, Ratification (Oct. 12, 1866)
34. Letter from Secretary of the Interior, O. H. Browning, to W. H. Benneson and H. V. Sullivan (Oct. 13, 1866)
35. “Secretary Browning’s Letter,” Evening Post (Oct. 24, 1866)
36. US Congressional Election Returns, Evening Post (Nov. 7, 1866)
37. Frederick Douglass, “Reconstruction,” Atlantic Monthly (Nov. 1866)
38. Georgia, Legislature Rejects the Fourteenth Amendment, Richmond Whig (Nov. 13, 1866)
39. “Madison,” Essays on the Fourteenth Amendment, Nos. I, II, and V, New York Times (Nov. 10, 15, and 28, 1866)
40. Florida, Gov. David S. Walker’s Message to the Legislature (Nov. 14, 1866)
41. The Equal Rights Convention, Remarks of Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Frederick Douglass, Albany, NY (Nov. 20, 1866)
42. Florida, Legislative Committee Reports and Rejection of the Fourteenth Amendment (Nov. 23, Dec. 1 and 3, 1866)
43. Virginia, Gov. Francis H. Pierpont’s Message to the Legislature, Alexandria Gazette (Dec. 4, 1866)
44. Alabama, Gov. Robert M. Patton’s Message to the Legislature, Rejection of the Fourteenth Amendment (Dec. 6 and 7, 1866)
45. North Carolina, Gov. Jonathan Worth’s Message to the Legislature, Joint Committee Report, Rejection of the Fourteenth Amendment (Nov. 20
and Dec. 6, 1866)
46. Arkansas, Senate Committee Report, Rejection of the Fourteenth Amendment (Dec. 10, 1866)
47. South Carolina, Gov. James Orr’s Message to the Legislature, Rejection of the Fourteenth Amendment (Nov. 27, 1866)
48. Ex parte Milligan (1866)
49. Reported Meeting between President Andrew Johnson and South Carolina Commissioner Colonel T. Weatherby, New York Herald (Dec. 28,
1866)
50. Frederick Douglass, “An Appeal to Congress for Impartial Suffrage,” Atlantic Monthly (Jan. 1867)
51. US House, Proposed Bill for the Restoration of the Southern States, Speech of Thaddeus Stevens (Jan. 3, 1867)
52. Kentucky, Gov. Thomas Bramlette’s Message to the Legislature, Rejection of the Fourteenth Amendment (Jan. 4, 1867)
53. Washington, DC, Passage of the District Suffrage Bill, Right Way (Jan. 19, 1867)
54. Virginia, Debate in the General Assembly, Rejection of the Fourteenth Amendment (Jan. 8–9, 1867)
55. New York, Gov. Reuben Fenton’s Message to the Legislature, Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment (Jan. 1, 2, and 10, 1867)
56. Ohio, Gov. Jacob Cox’s Message to the Legislature, Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment (Jan. 2 and 4, 1867)
57. Speech of Rep. George Boutwell (R-MA) on Suffrage and the Fourteenth Amendment, National Anti-Slavery Standard (Jan. 12, 1867)
58. West Virginia, Gov. Arthur Boreman’s Message to the Legislature, Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment (Jan. 16, 1867)
59. Kansas, Gov. Samuel J. Crawford’s Message to the Legislature, Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment (Jan. 9–11, 1867)
60. US House, Speech of John Bingham in Opposition to Bill for the Restoration of the Southern States, Exchange with Thaddeus Stevens (Jan.
16, 1867)
61. Indiana, Gov. Oliver P. Morton’s Message to the Legislature, Majority and Minority Committee Reports, Ratification of the Fourteenth
Amendment (Jan. 11, 18, and 23, 1867)
62. US House, Cruel and Unusual Punishments Bill, Debate (Jan. 28, 1867)
63. US House, Bill for the Restoration of the Southern States, Vote to Recommit to Committee on Reconstruction (Jan. 28, 1867)
64. Mississippi, Legislative Committee Report, Rejection of the Fourteenth Amendment (Jan. 30, 1867)
65. Louisiana, Gov. J. Madison Wells’s Message to the Legislature, Rejection of the Fourteenth Amendment (Jan. 28, 1867)
66. Proposed “Compromise” Amendment, New York Times (Feb. 5, 1867)
67. Delaware, Gov. Gove Saulsbury’s Message to the Legislature, Rejection of the Fourteenth Amendment (Jan. 1 and Feb. 14, 1867)
68. Pennsylvania, Legislative Debates on the Proposed Fourteenth Amendment (Jan. 14–Feb. 6, 1867)
69. Pennsylvania, Vote, Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment (Feb. 6, 1867)
70. Rhode Island, Gov. Ambrose Burnside’s Message to the Legislature, Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment (Feb. 2–7, 1866)
71. Wisconsin, Gov. Lucius Fairchild’s Message to the Legislature, Minority Committee Report, Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment (Jan. 10
and 22, 1867)
72. “The Amendment—The Situation,” Crisis (Feb. 13, 1867)
73. Massachusetts, Legislative Committee on Federal Relations, Majority and Minority Reports on the Proposed Fourteenth Amendment (Feb. 28,
1867)
74. US Congress, First Reconstruction Act (Mar. 2, 1867)
75. US Congress, Tenure in Office Act (Mar. 2, 1867)
76. “On the Massachusetts Committee’s Majority Report,” Boston Daily Advertiser (Mar. 4, 1867)
77. US Congress, Second Reconstruction Act (Mar. 23, 1867)
78. Maryland, Legislature’s Joint Committee Report, Rejection of the Fourteenth Amendment (Mar. 19 and 23, 1867)
79. Nebraska, Gov. David Butler’s Message to the Legislature, Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment (May 17, June 8 and 15, 1867)
80. Suspension of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, Official Correspondence, Cincinnati Daily Gazette (Aug. 13, 1867)
81. Reverdy Johnson, “A Further Consideration of the Dangerous Conditions of the Country” (Nov. 15, 1867)
82. Ohio, Legislature Rescinds Prior Ratification, Plain Dealer (Jan. 12, 1868)
83. Gen. Ulysses Grant Restores Edwin Stanton to the Office of Secretary of War, New York Tribune (Jan. 15, 1868)
84. President Andrew Johnson Removes Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, Precipitates Impeachment Proceedings, Chicago Republican (Feb. 22,
1868)
85. Iowa, Gov. William M. Stone’s Message to the Legislature, Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment (Jan. 14 and 27, Mar. 9, 1868)
86. New Jersey, Legislature Rescinds Prior Ratification (Feb. 19, 20, and 25; Mar. 5 and 27, 1868)
87. US House, Receipt and Return of New Jersey Withdrawal of Ratification (Mar. 30, 1868)
88. “Mr. Field’s Argument in the McCardle Case,” Report of Congressional Repeal of Supreme Court’s Jurisdiction, New York Herald (Mar. 14,
1868)
89. Arkansas, Gov. Isaac Murphy’s Message to the Legislature, Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment (Reversing Earlier Rejection) (Apr. 3,
1868)
90. “Impeachment . . . The President Pronounced Not Guilty,” New York Herald (May 17, 1868)
91. 1868 Republican National Convention and Party Platform, Chicago (May 21, 1868)
92. Florida, Gov. Harrison Reed’s Message to the Legislature, Ratification of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments (Reversing Earlier
Rejection) (June 9, 1868)
93. US Congress, An Act to Admit the States of North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, to Representation in
Congress (June 25, 1868)
94. North Carolina, Gov. W. W. Holden’s Message to the Legislature, Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment (Reversing Earlier Rejection) (July
2, 1868)
95. South Carolina, Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment (Reversing Earlier Rejection) (July 7 and 9, 1868)
96. Alabama, Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment (Reversing Earlier Rejection), New Orleans Times (July 14, 1868)
97. “Civil Law Restored in Louisiana; Ratification of the 14th Article of Amendment,” Boston Daily Journal (July 15, 1868)
98. Secretary of State William Seward, Provisional Proclamation of Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment (July 20, 1868)
99. US Congress, Senate and House Resolutions Declaring the Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment (July 21, 1868)
100. “Georgia Restored to Civil Authority,” New York Times (July 24, 1868)
101. Secretary of State William Seward, Final Proclamation of the Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment (July 28, 1868)
102. George W. Paschal, “The Fourteenth Article,” New York Tribune (Aug. 6, 1868)
103. John Bingham, “The Great Importance of the Fourteenth Amendment,” New York Herald (Dec. 3, 1868)
Part 2. The Fifteenth Amendment
A. Drafting
Introduction to Part 2A
The Fortieth Congress: Membership
1. US Senate, Exclusion of Georgia Senator Joshua Hill, Proposed Suffrage Amendment (Dec. 7, 1868)
2. US House, George Boutwell (R-MA), Proposed Suffrage Bill and Suffrage Amendment (Jan. 11, 1869)
3. US Senate, John B. Henderson (R-MO), Proposed Suffrage and Office Holding Amendment (Jan. 23, 1869)
4. US House, George Boutwell, Proposed Suffrage Bill and Suffrage Amendment (Jan. 23, 1869)
5. US House, Suffrage Amendment, Speech of Charles A. Eldridge (D-WI), Debate (Jan. 27, 1869)
6. US Senate, Suffrage and Office Holding Amendment (Jan. 28, 1869)
7. US House, Suffrage Amendment, Debate on Suffrage Bill (Jan. 28, 1869)
8. US House, Suffrage Amendment, Speech of John Bingham, Debate (Jan. 29, 1869)
9. US House, Suffrage Amendment, Alternative Versions Rejected, Passage of Amendment (Jan. 30, 1869)
10. US Senate, Suffrage and Office Holding Amendment, Debate (Feb. 4, 1869)
11. US Senate, Suffrage and Office Holding Amendment, Speech of Charles Sumner (Feb. 5, 1869)
12. US Senate, Suffrage and Office Holding Amendment, Debate (Feb. 8, 1869)
13. US Senate, Suffrage and Office Holding Amendment, Appointment of Electors, Passage of “Dual” Amendment (Feb. 9, 1869)
14. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Women and Black Men,” Revolution (Feb. 11, 1869)
15. US House, Suffrage Amendment, Nonconcurrence with Senate Proposal (Feb. 15, 1869)
16. US Senate, “Dual” Amendment on Suffrage, Office Holding, and Electors; Vote to Recede and Adopt Suffrage Amendment Proposed by House
(Feb. 17, 1869)
17. Wendell Phillips, “The Senate and the Proposed Amendment,” National Anti-Slavery Standard (Feb. 20, 1869)
18. US House, Suffrage Amendment, Addition of Language Protecting the Right to Hold Office (Feb. 20, 1869)
19. US Senate, Suffrage Amendment, Call for Conference with House (Feb. 23, 1869)
20. US House, Suffrage Amendment, Removal of Language Protecting Office Holding, Passes without Debate (Feb. 25, 1869)
21. US Senate, Suffrage Amendment, Debate and Passage (Feb. 26, 1869)
B. Ratification
Introduction to Part 2B
1. Missouri, State Legislature Ratifies Partially Reported Fifteenth Amendment (Mar. 1, 1869)
2. “Changing the Constitution by Telegraph,” Daily State Register (Mar. 13, 1869)
3. “Ratifying the Amendment,” Daily Evening Bulletin (Mar. 4, 1869)
4. President Ulysses S. Grant, First Inaugural Address (Mar. 4, 1869)
5. Indiana, Democrats Resign to Prevent Vote (Mar. 3–6, 1869)
6. Michigan, Ratification of Fifteenth Amendment, Minority Dissent and Protest (Mar. 5, 1869)
7. “The Amendment of the Constitution Regarding Suffrage,” New York Times (Mar. 8, 1869)
8. Kentucky, Gov. John Stevenson’s Message to the Legislature, Majority and Minority Report, Rejection of the Fifteenth Amendment (Mar. 10–12,
1869)
9. South Carolina, Statement of House Minority, Ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment (Mar. 11 and 15, 1869)
10. Georgia, Gov. Rufus Bullock’s Message to the Legislature, House Passage and Senate Rejection of the Fifteenth Amendment (Mar. 10–18,
1869)
11. New Jersey, Gov. Theodore Randolph’s Message to the Legislature, Note on Rejection of Amendment (Mar. 24, 1869)
12. Ohio, House Debate, Rejection of the Fifteenth Amendment (Mar. 25 and Apr. 1, 1869)
13. US Congress, The Requirement Bill: Requiring Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas to Ratify the Fifteenth Amendment as a Condition of
Readmission, New York Herald (Apr. 10, 1869)
14. Ex parte McCardle (1869)
15. Texas v. White (1869)
16. “The Fifteenth Amendment,” New York Times (Apr. 12, 1869)
17. New York, Ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment (Apr. 14, 1869)
18. Annual Meeting of the American Equal Rights Association, Remarks of Stephen Foster, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Frederick Douglass, New
York, NY (May 12–13, 1869)
19. Indiana, Remaining Republican Legislature Ratifies Amendment (May 14, 1869)
20. “The Amendment in Indiana,” Boston Daily Journal (May 20, 1869)
21. “Wendell Phillips Advocates It—Ratification by Rhode Island,” New York Times (May 30, 1869)
22. Virginia, Gov. Gilbert Walker’s Message to the Legislature, Ratification of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments (Oct. 5 and 8, 1869)
23. “All Wise Women Should Oppose the Fifteenth Amendment,” Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Revolution (Oct. 21, 1869)
24. Tennessee, Gov. Dewitt Senter’s Message to the Legislature, Committee Reports, Rejection of the Fifteenth Amendment (Oct. 13, Nov. 15 and
16, 1869)
25. US Congress, The “Georgia Bill,” Debate and Passage (Dec. 16, 20, and 22, 1869)
26. New York, “Ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment Rescinded,” New York Times (Jan. 6, 1870)
27. Kansas, Gov. James M. Harvey’s Message to the Legislature, Repassage of the Fifteenth Amendment (Jan. 12, 1870)
28. Ohio, Legislature Reverses Prior Vote and Ratifies the Fifteenth Amendment (Jan. 3 and 14, 1870)
29. Iowa, Gov. Samuel Merrill’s Message to the Legislature, Ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment (Jan. 11 and 27, 1870)
30. California, Gov. H. H. Haight’s Message to the Legislature, Rejection of the Fifteenth Amendment (Jan. 5 and 28, 1870)
31. Georgia, Gov. Rufus Bullock’s Message to the Legislature; Ratification of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments (Feb. 2, 1870)
32. “The Amendment Complete,” Boston Daily Journal (Feb. 4, 1870)
33. New Jersey, Legislative Debate, Rejection of the Fifteenth Amendment (Feb. 7, 1870)
34. President Ulysses S. Grant, Message to Congress Announcing the Ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment (Mar. 30, 1870)
35. Frederick Douglass, Letter to a Ratification Celebration (Apr. 5, 1870)
Appendix
Introduction to the Appendix
1. The Enforcement Bill and Repassage of the 1866 Civil Rights Act (May 31, 1870)
2. US House, Judiciary Committee, Petition of Victoria Woodhull on the Subject of Female Suffrage (Jan. 2, 1871)
3. US House, Judiciary Committee, “The Woodhull Report” (Jan. 30 and Feb. 1, 1871)
4. US House, Speech of John Bingham on the Meaning of the Privileges or Immunities Clause of Section One of the Fourteenth Amendment (Mar.
31, 1871)
5. The Slaughterhouse Cases (1873)
6. Bradwell v. The State (1873)
7. Minor v. Happersett (1875)
8. United States v. Reese (1876)
9. United States v. Cruikshank (1876)
Bibliography
Index
About the Author :
Kurt T. Lash is the E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Chair in Law at the University of Richmond. He is the author or coauthor of several books, including, most recently, The Fourteenth Amendment and the Privileges and Immunities of American Citizenship.
Review :
"The ending of the Civil War posed as many new questions as it had answered, and nothing reflect the uncertainty and improvisation which resulted so awkwardly than the history of the passage of the 14th and 15th Amendments. In this second volume of documents on the Reconstruction Amendments, Kurt Lash again does us the invaluable service of collecting a vast range of highly illuminating materials -- congressional debates and inquiries, convention calls, newspaper accounts, judicial and editorial opinions -- which will invite us to a fuller understanding of a critical constitutional moment in our republic's history. This will be bought and borrowed for reference, but it will be read for sheer, unstoppable fascination."
"Lash is the nation’s leading authority on documents pertaining to civil rights in the Reconstruction era, and these volumes will be an indispensable source for scholars, abetted by Lash’s incisive commentary."
"This remarkable work of scholarship is a gift to those who seek to understand the United States. The debates over the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments confronted fundamental and enduring issues of justice and equality. Kurt Lash’s masterful survey of the vast public discussion of the Amendments makes clear just how much was at stake. Exploring the words of anonymous citizens as well as legendary lawmakers, Lash’s collection reveals this pivotal moment in American history as we have never seen it before."
"I just finished teaching a course on the Reconstruction Amendments and Acts at Stanford Law School, using a judicious sub-set of Lash's marvelous set of original source materials. This opens up possibilities for teaching as well as research which never existed before. The students commented especially on how helpful Lash's introductory essays to each part of the materials were. This publication is a magnificent academic achievement and a public service.”
"[A] masterful two volume set. . . . Lash has produced a single, critical resource for understanding a profound moment in American constitution making—a resource that is long, long overdue. . . . Lash has produced a book that every constitutional scholar and historian needs to own."
